Charles the Great

Charlemagne

/ˈʃɑːləˌmeɪn/

noun

1.

?742–814 ad, king of the Franks (768–814) and, as Charles I, Holy Roman Emperor (800–814). He conquered the Lombards (774), the Saxons (772–804), and the Avars (791–799). He instituted many judicial and ecclesiastical reforms, and promoted commerce and agriculture throughout his empire, which extended from the Ebro to the Elbe. Under Alcuin his court at Aachen became the centre of a revival of learning

The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; his name means “Charles the Great.” Charlemagne was king of France in the late eighth and early ninth centuries and was crowned emperor in 800. He is especially remembered for his encouragement of education.